Pakistan ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi expressed his determination and eagerness to ruin David Warner's farewell Test series against Pakistan, which is set to begin on December 14 in Perth.
Warner, who turned 37 this year, showed no sign of decline, neither in his fitness nor with the bat. The left-handed batter was one of Australia's most important players in the recently-held ICC World Cup 2023, as he scored 535 runs at a 48.63 average and helped the Aussies clinch their record-extending sixth title.
Expressing his thoughts during a presser before their first practice session in Canberra on Sunday, Shaheen said Warner has had a "great career" and has consistently delivered stellar performances across all three formats.
"We would wish him good luck but we are not hoping for a good end for David Warner in his last Test series against us," said the pacer.
The left-arm fast bowler emphasised the significance of the series for Pakistan, highlighting their current top spot in the World Test Championship's points table.
"This is an important series for Pakistan as we are leading the World Test Championship's point table at the moment," stated the 23-year-old pacer.
Having faced the majority of the recently announced Australian squad, Shaheen expressed the team's preparedness for the challenge that lies ahead. "We have played against the recently announced Australia's 14-member squad, and we are all up for this challenge," he affirmed.
"We don't have much experience of Canberra, but I am sure this four-day match against PM XI will help us prepare well for the series against the home team starting from Perth," he explained.
Meanwhile, Shaheen also spoke about the recent viral video of players loading their luggage onto a container truck outside the Sydney airport, saying that they helped each other out to save time.
"We only had 30 minutes to catch our next flight and we helped because there were just two people. We wanted to wrap it up fast and to save time," the 23-year-old bowler said.
"We call this team a family and helped them as a family," he added
Australia squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Lance Morris
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Australia tour schedule:
Four-day match: PM’s XI vs Pakistan – December 6-9: Manuka Oval, Canberra
1st Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 14-18: Perth Stadium
2nd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 26-30: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
3rd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – January 3-7: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG
- Shaheen Afridi
